Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
You find out a lot about a person when they are in a tight spot. Nothing shows character like sheer terror. King Belshazzar was “born in the church” as it were. Nebuchadnezzar had established the worship of the God of Abraham years earlier but Belshazzar thought he would add a few false idols to the mix, as kings are wont to do. He soon found out what the true God thought of that when a disembodied hand started floating around. Kings love to put on a brave face but that all changed. King Belshazzar looked more like Don Knotts, with pale face, visible alarm, and quaking in his boots.
Who among us has not faced something similar? Our frightful experiences are not supernatural like this but show themselves as financial struggles, a bad health diagnosis, or a relationship crisis. It shows us who we are and who we trust. Today, you may be going through any one or all three of these, or something else altogether. Let this show you who is in control and who can be trusted in times of terror that come into our lives. God used Daniel to minister to the king and show God’s strength in terrifying times. May you meet a Daniel or be a Daniel yourself today.
Dear Lord, thank you for Daniel and the moments in our lives that draw us to you. May we be attentive to those moments. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church